Love Left to Lose
by TVchick08
Summary: I've been out of the game for awhile :/ but here's a ne shot based of off the Sons of Sylvia song "Love Left to Lose". NATHEN. Hope you guys enjoy it :


Title: Love left to lose  
Author: Bee  
Rating: PG  
Pairing: Nathen. mentions of Stephen/Lisa  
Fandom: Medical Investigation  
Disclaimer: They aren't mine, it sucks.  
Summary: Wow I've been out of the game for a while :/ anyway… this was originally written as the first part to a story I was working on, but it went nowhere, so here it is :)  
A/N: The posting of this, and little bit of editing that I did, was inspired by the lyrics to "Love Left to Lose" by Sons of Sylvia:

_Look me in the eyes and tell me _  
_ What are ya feeling baby. _  
_ Don't you know you have my heart _  
_ And I could never walk away. _

_ And I'll give all that I have _  
_ If I could only make you see that _  
_ You're the only one I want, _  
_ So please don't ever say ... _

_ Ohh, whatcha waiting for? _  
_ One more step and you're out that door _  
_ Ohh, whatcha waiting for? _  
_ All we've got is love left to lose._**_  
_-_"Love Left to Lose" _by Sons of Sylvia**

**Stephen's POV**

It had been a long week and after the extremely rough case that the team and I had just handled we all needed a break, and a long one. At least that was Kate's excuse when she told me that my team and I had just earned ourselves a week of leave. I am not exactly happy about this decision, because she just had to pick the one week that Jack wasn't home. So now I have a week to sit around and do nothing, which Kate said was better then me not being able to do any work because I was worn out.

I had already told Miles, Eva and Frank that we were off and unlike me they seemed to enjoy it. Miles and Eva had taken off the second I was done and Frank left not long after, saying something about owing his wife a dinner since the girls where with their grandmother. I, however, had not been able to find Natalie after my meeting. She was most likely in the lab running tests of some kind, that was where she always seemed to be lately. I walk up to the lab and see her leaning over a microscope before scribbling something down. I knocked on the door lightly before opening it. She looks up at me and smiles, before turning back to her notes.

"We need to talk." I lean back against the counter behind her and she turns to look at me.

"About what?" She takes the gloves off her hands and stands.

"You need to leave."

"I need to leave what?"

"The building."

"Is this your way of firing me, because it isn't well thought out." She looks up at me with an annoyed look on her face.

God she's so cute when she's annoyed. I think to myself before replying to her comment. "I'm not firing you; Kate's put the team on leave. She claims that if she sees any of us in this building after six tonight she's going to have us arrested for trespassing."

"Nice woman." She turns back to her notes and scribbles something out before shoving the pen in her mouth and rereading what she had written down.

"Yeah, well its ten to six. We should leave." I reply as I look down at her notes. "You spelled inconclusive wrong." I point out as she searches the paper for the word, before crossing it out and rewriting, making sure to spell it correctly this time.

"You go ahead; I'll leave in a few minutes." She says as she walks over to the computer and sits down.

"No you won't." I grab her coat from the coat rack and walk over to her. "Come on, I'll buy you dinner." I tap her shoulder and show her coat.

She gives me a questioning look before shutting down the computer and standing. "Fine." She takes her lab coat off and lays it over the back of the chair. I hold her coat out for her and she slides her arms through before turning to face me. "Why are we on leave anyways?"

"Kate thinks that we're too tired to work for a week. She told us that we need to get away from here for a while." I answer as we make our way downstairs to the garage. "Do you want to meet me there or come get your car later?"

"I guess I'll meet you there." She stops at her car and leans against the driver's side door. "Where exactly did you have in mind?"

"Jesse's?" I ask as I look at her and smile at the look on her face.

"Sounds good." She climbs in and pulls the door shut before rolling her window down. "See you there in ten?"

"Yeah. Sounds good." I step away as she backs out and I wave before making my way to my car. I get inside and start the engine when my cell phone goes off. I look down at the caller idea and when I see Lisa's name I put it back in my pocket and drive off.

**Natalie's POV**

I have been standing outside the bar waiting for Stephen to show up for ten minutes and have already been asked by half a dozen guys to join them inside. And the worst of them has decided that he wants to stand here and try to make a move on me. He's really starting to piss me off when I see Stephen's car pull in so I decide to walk out and join him. When he gets out I practically run to him and wrap my arms around his waist. He gives me a funny look and I just smile before whispering in his ear. "This guy won't leave me alone."

He just smiles and wraps his arm around my shoulders as we walk past the guy, who just stands dumbfounded. "Think it worked?"

"Yeah." He moves his arm from around me and opens the door for me. "He's been trying to get me to go inside and 'keep him company' for the past ten minutes."

"I'm amazed you didn't kill him." He smiles at me before turning to the hostess. "Two." She grabs two menus and we follow her to a booth in the back. After she seats us and takes our drink orders he looks up at me and smiles. "You know what you want?"

"I think so." I reply as I try to keep my eyes on the menu. He's staring at me and I know it, and he knows that I know it. I think that's why he stares at me, the few times that I have caught him anyways. When I look up he smiles, but for once he doesn't look away. "What?"

"Nothing." He smiles and looks back at the menu before closing it and laying it down on the table. I get ready to reply when the waitress comes with our drinks and then before disappearing to another table.

Neither of us knows what to say, so we just sit there and stare at the table. I'm lost in my own thoughts, thoughts that I shouldn't be thinking. I think of how good he looks in his leather jacket, even though I've seen him in it about a hundred times. I think about how I wish he hadn't taken his arm from around me, and about how good it felt to be in his arms. I think about how he seems to be acting differently around me lately, actually ever since the divorce was final. I keep telling myself that he's just being nice to me, but the looks he gives me and the way he stands just a bit closer tell me differently. I'm brought out of my thoughts by the feeling of his hand on mine and when I look up I'm greeted with a familiar and warm smile.

"You okay?" He asks, I can tell he's trying not to sounds serious, but it isn't working.

"Yeah, just thinking."

"About what?" He still hasn't moved his hand off of mine and I'm not sure if I want him too.

"Nothing." I smile and I think he believes me. "Shouldn't you get that?" I point out as his cell phone rings again.

"It's just Lisa." He wraps his fingers around mine and I swallow the lump in my throat.

"You sure you shouldn't answer that, something could be wrong with Jack?"

"He's fine. She just wants to bother me. She thinks it's my fault that he hates her." I look up at him and he smiles again.

"I, um, I'll be right back." I pull my hand away from his and stand up. I quickly make my way to the restroom and I'm glad to see that for the moment I am alone. I splash cold water on my face before leaning against the wall and closing my eyes. After a few minutes I decide to go back before he comes looking me. As I'm walking back to the table I see that he is on the phone and from the tone of his voice I can bet that it isn't going well. I take a seat as he slams his phone shut and tosses it into the corner of the booth along with his jacket. "Everything okay?"

"I think I should be asking you that question."

"I'm fine." I sit down and he just raises his eyebrows.

The waitress walks over and asks for our orders. "I'll have a cheeseburger, no onion, and he'll have a chicken Caesar salad." I tell the waitress as I hand her our menus, she just looks at Stephen and raises her eyebrow before shaking her head and leaving.

"What if I didn't want that?" He asks me.

"You always order that, of course you wanted that." I just smile at him and he smiles in return. "Besides, you've never been much of a hamburger kind of guy."

"Good point." He takes a sip of his beer before looking up at me. "Are sure that you're okay? You left in a hurry earlier."

"Yeah, I'm fine." I'm lying and he knows it. He always seems to know when I'm lying, how, I don't know, but he does. He reaches for my hands and I pull them into my lap. I keep my eyes on the table and I hear him sigh quietly before getting up. I look up at him, expecting for him to head to the bathrooms, but instead he comes and slides into the seat next to me. I turn to look out the window and I feel his hand come to rest on my knee.

"Please look at me Nat." I can hear the concern in his voice, but I don't have the courage to look at him. He moves his hand from my knee to my left hand and he squeezes it gently. "You know that you can talk to me."

"I know." I keep my head turned towards the window and he just lets go of my hand and sighs. "I don't want to talk about this here." I turn to look at him and he just gives me a sad smile.

"Okay."

He gets ready to get up and I grab a hold of his hand and pull him back into the seat. He lets go of my hand and wraps his arm around my shoulders and we just sit there. Our food comes ten minutes later and we eat in total silence. When the waitress comes with the check he hands her his card without letting me see the ticket.

"I promised you dinner remember?" He looks down at me and smiles, and I can't help but smile back. The waitress comes back with his card and after he signs the receipt he stands up and grabs his coat and cell phone. He extends his hand to me and I greatly accept. We quickly make our way outside and the jerk from earlier is still there. He sees me and staggers over, and it's no lie that he's drunk.

"Hey gorgeous. You don't really want to go him with him do you?" He asks and I can smell the alcohol on his breath.

"Hey look pal, leave her alone." Stephen shoots back.

"Why should I? She obviously doesn't want to be with you. Do you sweetie?" He tries to grad my free hand and Stephen gently jerks me back.

"Look asshole, get lost or I'll call the cops."

"I'm not scared of you." He moves to kiss me and Stephen steps between the two of us and punches him.

"Stephen!" I yell as the guy kicks at Stephen and hits him in the shin. Stephen punches him again and he falls backwards and just stays down. "Are you okay?" I grab a hold of his right hand and examine his already bruising knuckles.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He shakes his hand out before turning to me. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, thanks for doing that."

"No problem." He looks down at the guy and kicks him in the side, resulting in a groan. "Let's get out of here." He grabs my hand and we walk silently across the parking lot until we get to my car.

"Well, this is me." I reluctantly let go of his hand and grab my keys out of my coat pocket.

"Yeah." I turn to face him and he reaches up and brushes a strand of hair out my face and I blush. "You want to talk? Maybe go get a cup of coffee?"

"No. I need to think." I say as I see the disappointed look on his face. "Maybe later okay? We do have a week off, remember?"

"Good point."

I unlock the door and get ready to get in when he grabs my shoulder and turns me to face him. He cups my cheek before bending down and kissing me. At first I accept it willingly, but then I realize that this is Stephen and that this can't happen. I pull away quickly and get in the car, before slamming the door in his face. I pull out of the parking space and drive off, leaving a dumbfounded Stephen standing there staring at my car. My head keeps telling me that I did the right thing, but my heart says otherwise. I have always had strong feelings for Stephen, but I could never act on them because he was married. When he told me that he and Lisa were getting a divorce I practically jumped him right then and there. After a while he started to show signs of feeling something for me, but he had always been so fixed on the 'no dating your coworkers' policy. I had a little hope of him acting on his feelings after our little visit to Central America, but all he did was shut himself off from the rest of the world. We had all been given our time off after that case as well and when we returned he had shut down completely and became the old Stephen; the Stephen that no one really liked because he put his work first and had no time for anyone or anything else. After awhile though he opened up more, I think the fact that Jack had runaway and asked to live with him had helped it must have helped him realize that he couldn't hide from us anymore. He has always been more open with me, but now it was serious. Why did he kiss me? Why? He could have any woman he wanted and he picked me, of all people. It didn't make any sense, and it wasn't that I didn't want him to kiss me; it's just that I had expected it to be after we had talked things through. Oh well, we've got a whole week to work this one out, and I'm sure we're going to need it.


End file.
